Page 1 of The Hunter

CHAPTER 1

The roar of the cascading waterfall muted Lacey’s cries as she clutched her lower belly. She curled her fingers, wishing she could sink them into her flesh like claws and tear out her insides to put an end to her agony. The pain was relentless, sharp, and brutal, like a hot blade stabbing and twisting over and over.

Standing hunched over in waist-deep water, Lacey drew in one shaky breath after another, attempting to breathe through the pain, to calm herself.

“I’m okay…” she whispered. “I’m okay.”

As though to refute those words, another excruciating convulsion seized her. A sob tore from Lacey’s throat. She threw out a hand, slapping it against the nearby rock.

I am most certainly not fucking okay.

If anything could have soothed her, it would’ve been this place—this private slice of paradise, tucked behind the waterfall, where the waters from the temple hot springs above fed into a warm pool. Colorful vegetation clung to the nearby cliffside, dotted with bright blossoms. It was beautiful, and it should’ve been serene and relaxing.

Instead, it only felt like a mockery of her pain.

Turning toward the rock, Lacey drew herself out of the pool. Water poured from the skirt of her short, brown patchwork dress. She ignored the way the rock bit into her palms and knees as she crawled to her belongings. Her bugout bag and spear, the two things that had been drilled into her to never leave behind. The weapon lay beside her bag, but Lacey didn’t bother to reach for it. At this point, were a beast to come upon her, drawn by the scent of blood, she doubted she’d have the will to fight back.

She lay down on her side upon the rough, flat stone and dragged her bag beneath her head. Pressing her fists to her pelvis, she drew her knees up and cried.

This was it. After all the struggles, all the trials, all the crushing defeats and hard-won victories, this was how it all ended.

Lacey was going to die here, alone and suffering, slowly bleeding to death.

CHAPTER 2

Telok folded all four of his arms across his chest as he again surveyed his surroundings. Thornskulls packed Kaldarak’s central platform. The bright, colorful hides of the males contrasted with the duller, earthier tones of the larger females. Most were gathered around charcoal circles drawn onto the floor planks, which served as fields of battle in the games of stonetoss being played.

By their cheers, gasps, chitters, and good-natured taunts, they were enjoying themselves.

Though he’d had more than he could bear of crowds during Takarahl’s offering days, and he’d not been in the mood for games as of late, Telok found some amusement in watching his friends play.

He lowered his gaze to the match before him. Urkot, the burly delver-become-shaper, sat on one side of the circle, studying the tiny stones within it closely.

To either side of him sat Rekosh, the tall, spindly weaver, and Ketahn, the powerfully built sometimes-weaver, sometimes-hunter.

The three shadowstalkers were as brothers to Telok, and their joy was his own.

Ketahn’s broodling, Akalahn, was bent down beside his sire with his hindquarters in the air, enrapt with the game. The little one’s blend of human and vrix features made him wholly unique—the first and only of his kind.

“Locking in now,” said Cole, the yellow-haired human who was kneeling across from Urkot.

His words once would’ve been meaningless to Telok. The humans’ language was strange, clumsy, and frustratingly confusing. After moon cycles of struggle, Telok had seized some understanding.

But he still didn’t understand what locking had to do with this game.

Cole brushed his fingers over the polished stones laid out before him, each of which bore a yellow dot to mark it as his. The three vrix players had their stones painted to match their markings—blue for Urkot, red for Rekosh, and purple for Ketahn.

The human selected a stone and bounced it on his palm, testing its heft. “Watch as your champion claims his title.”

He lined up his hand, inhaled, and tossed the rock. It struck a blue-marked stone within the circle with a clack, knocking it toward the boundary.

Where it struck one of Cole’s yellow stones and bumped it out of the circle.

Cole threw his hands up. “Are you kidding me? Come on!”

Telok chittered along with Urkot and Ketahn.

“The stones say otherwise,” Urkot said. “They know the true champion.”